CHARLESTON – A man has sued the West Virginia State Police, saying State Troopers unlawfully detained and killed his father earlier this year in an incident that has garnered national attention.
Edmond Exline II filed his complaint July 21 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the State Police and three unnamed troopers. His father Edmond Exline, 45, lived in nearby Hagerstown, Md.
According to the complaint, Edmond Exline was walking along Interstate 81 near Martinsburg on February 12 when the three troopers arrived at the scene and began chasing him. They grabbed and tackled him, taking him to the ground. They also handcuffed Exline and used tasers on him and physically attacked him, the complaint states.
The complaint says the troopers stopped communicating with Berkeley County Emergency Communications for about five minutes while they attacked Exline. Eventually, according to the complaint, Exline was unresponsive. That’s when the troopers handcuffed Exline and placed him in the back of a cruiser. When they realized he was unresponsive, the troopers pulled Exline from the cruiser and administered Narcan on him, according to the complaint, even though Exline had not overdosed on any narcotics.
Exline was taken to Berkeley Medical Center and pronounced dead at 10:31 p.m. The complaint says Exline was unarmed and had not committed a criminal offense.
Media reports have quoted family member as saying Exline had battled mental illness, but no explanation for what he was doing on I-81 has been given.
The troopers’ actions “were not taken in good faith and were in violation of clearly established law,” the complaint states. “No objectively reasonable police officer could have perceived the force as necessary.”
The complaint also notes comments made by Gov. Jim Justice and former State Police Superintendent Jan Cahill about the incident.
“I’ve seen the video,” Justice said March 20. “It’s very, very concerning.”
I’ll promise you that the situation on I-81 does not look good, that’s all there is to it,” he said March 29.
The defendants are accused of excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, unlawful detainment, battery, assault, deliberate indifference to Exline’s rights, negligent training and supervision, negligence and gross negligence.
The estate seeks compensatory damages for physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, injuries resulting from the defendants’ conduct as well as indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, annoyance, inconvenience and degradation. It also seeks punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
Exline II is being represented by John-Mark Atkinson and Mark A. Atkinson of Atkinson & Frampton in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-622